Quinoa is one of the "it" foods right now and seems to be appearing everywhere. In fact it has been cultivated for over 3,000 years in South America so it certainly is not a new food. It is gluten free a good source of protein and dietary fiber and is high in iron. It has a lovely light fluffy texture when cooked right and makes a wonderful salad.
I like salads that can be made ahead and be held for a while especially when feeding a crowd and this is one that I will add to my repetoire for summer barbecues.
This recipe is adapted slightly from Yanuq cooking in Peru We reduced the dressing a little as it seemed too much and the peppers that were called for were not available in Canada so we improvised. Any way this is the recipe as adapted.
For 8
2 cups of red kidney beans cooked (or canned)
11/2 cups of uncooked quinoa
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
1 red pepper chopped
1 yellow pepper chopped
1 Serrano or jalapeno pepper finely chopped (you could add more if you like more heat)
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
1 can of corn (or equivalent frozen or fresh cut off the cob)
8 tablespoons of lemon juice
1/2 cup of olive oil
2 teaspoons of cumin
2 teaspoons of salt.
Boil the quinoa for about 10 minutes then drain and place in a sieve over a pan with boiling water and steam with a lid on for a further 10 minutes. Connie cooked this at her house and brought down to finish the salad so I do not have any pictures of the cooking.
So this is what it looked like when it arrived.
Combine all the other ingredients in a bowl.
You could use canned beans as long as they are rinsed well, I chose to cook from dried because I really prefer the texture of them that way. Add all the other ingredients to the cooled quinoa and serve. This made plenty for 8 for dinner and enough left overs for another meal for 2.
You could use rice or couscous in place of the quinoa if you can not find it but as I say it does appear to be everywhere these days.
This could be a main dish in a vegeterian meal or as was the case on Saturday a side dish.
I like salads that can be made ahead and be held for a while especially when feeding a crowd and this is one that I will add to my repetoire for summer barbecues.
This recipe is adapted slightly from Yanuq cooking in Peru We reduced the dressing a little as it seemed too much and the peppers that were called for were not available in Canada so we improvised. Any way this is the recipe as adapted.
For 8
2 cups of red kidney beans cooked (or canned)
11/2 cups of uncooked quinoa
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
1 red pepper chopped
1 yellow pepper chopped
1 Serrano or jalapeno pepper finely chopped (you could add more if you like more heat)
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
1 can of corn (or equivalent frozen or fresh cut off the cob)
8 tablespoons of lemon juice
1/2 cup of olive oil
2 teaspoons of cumin
2 teaspoons of salt.
Boil the quinoa for about 10 minutes then drain and place in a sieve over a pan with boiling water and steam with a lid on for a further 10 minutes. Connie cooked this at her house and brought down to finish the salad so I do not have any pictures of the cooking.
So this is what it looked like when it arrived.
Combine all the other ingredients in a bowl.
 |
| Everything except the cilantro |
You could use canned beans as long as they are rinsed well, I chose to cook from dried because I really prefer the texture of them that way. Add all the other ingredients to the cooled quinoa and serve. This made plenty for 8 for dinner and enough left overs for another meal for 2.
You could use rice or couscous in place of the quinoa if you can not find it but as I say it does appear to be everywhere these days.
|
| The finished salad |
That looks so colourful and bursting with flavour! :D
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